“So in conclusion, it can be argued that the Rise of Nightmare Moon wouldn't have been possible without the removal of the Elements from the Tree of Harmony in the first place, which makes her subsequent banishment and defeat a non-issue in terms of the after effects,” Missing Nail spoke out loud as he finished the final chapter of his latest book on speculative history.

“The ramifications would have mainly been felt by the Crystal Empire, since the presence of the Elements directly leads into King Sombra's defeat, and pushing him into his desperate act of displacing it in time. In which ways Equestrian society today would be different, had the Empire been around for the last thousand years, shall be the topic of my next volume in the series.”

Putting his quill aside, he lifted his coffee mug to his muzzle while pushing his glasses straight. Determining how things could have played out differently due to minor changes was his special talent, but it wasn't exactly practical for making money. As such, he relied rather heavily on his book royalties.

“Strange how the closer you are to these events, the less you're likely to see those little things in time,” he thought to himself wryly while leaning back in his desk chair, his eyes gazing on the framed picture of three young foals on his wall. “So many things I could have done differently.”

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Wondering who it could be this early in the morning, he looked through the peephole, then opened the door with a smile.

“Diamond Dust!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

The beautiful pegasus mare with the icy white coat and frost blue mane stepped into his small apartment. “Do I need a reason to drop in on my baby brother?” she asked, giving him a hug.

“No,” Missing Nail replied while blushing, feeling his sister's ample bosom pressed against his chest. “I just wish you'd call before dropping by, if only so I could clean up a bit.”

Raising an eyebrow, she poked his nose. “The day you start cleaning up after yourself, I'll become a nun in Griffonia,” she said, looking around his bachelor pad. “Have you been burning the midnight oil again?”

He shrugged, closing the door and gesturing for her to take a seat on the couch. “You know I do my best work at night. Besides, for writing a book on Nightmare Moon it seemed kind of fitting. Can I get you anything? Coffee?”

“Depends. Is it gonna be more than lukewarm?”

Missing Nail shrugged again. “Freshly brewed last night.”

“Pass,” she waved him off, making her way into the kitchen to make a fresh pot. Running her finger along the counter, she took notice of the layer of dust. “You know what you need? A wife. Somepony who'll break you of your bad habits.”

“You're not gonna be happy until you fix me up, are you?”

Piercing him with her emerald eyes, her lips turned into a naughty grin. “I know you want to marry me, and I can't blame you,” she said, lifting her arms above her head to show off her curves, teasing him a little. “But you can't. I'm your sister after all.”

The earth pony stallion blushed. “You're never gonna let this go, aren't you?”

“Why would I? I got it in writing,” she said, pulling a piece of paper out of her purse. On it, written in crayon, were the words of a certain young colt.

When I grow up, I'm gonna marry D.D!

“Come on! I was in first grade when I wrote that,” he protested. “What do you expect from a six-year-old?” He looked away from his sister with a long sigh. “You know how it is. If I'd ever married somepony, it'd have been her.”

* * *

4 years earlier...

Missing Nail stood in front of his desk, making sure he had everything he was gonna need for a night of writing. “Quill, check. Parchment, check. Fresh pot of coffee, check. Okay, time to get serious,” he said to himself, rubbing his hands together. He'd definitely make some headway tonight.

Knock! Knock!

Or at least he would as soon as he'd gotten rid of whoever was at his door. Grumbling to himself all the way, he went to check who it was.

“Shooting Star?” he asked when he opened the door, all thoughts of getting some work done going out the window at the sight of the pegasus mare with the two bags.

“Hey, Missing Nail,” she greeted him dejectedly. “Mind if I crash on your couch tonight?”

“Of course not,” he replied immediately, stepping aside to let her in. “You know where everything is.”

“Thanks.” With a practiced routine, she put her bags down next to the sofa and got the spare pillow and blanket from a nearby cabinet.

It wasn't the first time she'd sought asylum here, and it wouldn't be the last. However, lately it had been happening more frequently. “Big fight?” he asked simply, getting some beer and two glasses.

“Oh yeah,” she replied, rolling her eyes, sighing and falling back onto the couch while he poured the drinks. She loosened the tie of her dress uniform and crossed her legs.

Missing Nail almost spilled the drinks as he poured, because he was momentarily distracted by her thighs flashing underneath the navy blue skirt. “Was it about the Playcolt thing?”

She nodded, gratefully accepting the glass and taking a long drink. “It's not unreasonable, right? I mean, every year they do a photo shoot with some of the mares from the Flight Squadron. Spitfire has been on the cover, for Celestia's sake! And Moonstone is acting like this is somehow showing that I don't take our relationship seriously.”

Missing Nail nodded. “I hate to say 'I told you so,' but I told you so.”

“Don't,” she hissed at him, raising a finger. “You really think it would have been better not to tell him anything? That would have been even worse, trust me. He even got upset that I'd discussed it with you first. All I did was get a second opinion, right? At least I can talk about these things rationally with you.” She stood up, pacing around the room. “But he still turned it around on me, saying that relationships were about compromise. You know what he said then?”

“What?”

“He FORBID me from doing the photo shoot. Can you believe that?”

Missing Nail raised an eyebrow. “He can't do that.”

“Damn right, he can't. And that's what I told him. I'm telling you, this time it's really over. This is the last straw. I just can't deal with this anymore.”

Missing Nail kept quiet. He knew she was only venting. He'd stopped fooling himself into thinking that they'd actually break up and he could be the one to swoop in and put the pieces of Shooting Star's broken heart back together.

“And I know he's got his own stash of Playcolt back issues, make no mistake about that. That's hypocritical, isn't it? He'll look at them, but somehow me getting featured there is wrong. Why can't he be more like you in that regard?” Star leaned over, picking up a magazine from the spot under the coffee table. “You don't make a big deal out of this, right? Ohh, is that the issue with Candy Swift?”

Missing Nail coughed a little embarrassed as she began leafing through the pages. “Yeah, well. Not everypony has the stones to leave these lying around while there's a lady in the room.”

“But this is what I mean, you know. Candy Swift, rising star of the Wonderbolts cheering squad. She's TWO YEARS my junior, but she's done with her photo session. Nopony's gonna bother her again about it, but I keep putting it off because of Moonstone.”

“You don't have to do it, right?”

She gave him a complicated look. “Well, no. But nopony I know at base has ever turned the offer down. How would that make me look?”

“Shooting Star giving in to peer pressure? That'll be a new one,” Missing Nail said in a slightly amused tone.

“It's not just that. I really wanna do it, too. I mean, look at that!” She pointed at the centerfold of her fellow Wonderbolt in the magazine. “Doesn't that look awesome? I wanna be admired that way, too. It's not like I have anything to be ashamed of where my body is concerned.” Suddenly she held the magazine away at arm's length. “I'm not gonna ask why these pages are sticking together.”

He gave her a look that was part flustered and part innocent. “I just spilled some soda on it.”

“Riiiiiight.” Despite the assurance, she gingerly put it down on the coffee table before sitting back down with a sigh. “Sorry for showing up out of the blue and unloading on you, Nail. You probably had things to do,” she said, glancing over at his desk.

“Oh, it's no problem,” he said. He was used to it by now, and truthfully it made him a little happy as well. Shooting Star didn't have to come here. She could always stay at the base, if she really needed a place to sleep. But instead she always came here. As much as he hated seeing her unhappy due to another argument with Moonstone, this way at least he had the chance to be with her every now and then, however fleeting that moment would always be. All the more reason to use the opportunity to its fullest when it presented itself.

“So, about me staying the night. You want the usual?”

““Get on your knees and suck my dick,”” they both said in unison, Shooting Star giving him a grin.

“How did you know I was gonna say that?”

She rolled her eyes. “Because that's what you always ask for. You only start asking for the fancy stuff if it's more than one night.” She stood up and began to undress herself. “Just let me get out of my uniform. You have no idea how tough it is to get the stains out of this.”

“You don't have to do this, you know.” His actions betrayed his words, as Missing Nail had already pulled down his sweat pants, letting his half erect cock swing freely while he watched her undress. “It's not like I'd kick you out or anything for saying no.”

Carefully folding her jacket and blouse before setting them aside, Shooting Star knelt down in front of him wearing only her skirt and bra. “I know, but it feels like I'm being a bad friend if I take advantage of your hospitality and unloading my problems on you without giving something back in return.” She took hold of his member and started rubbing it slowly. “And there's nothing you like more than getting a blowjob.”

He shuddered at her touch, reaching out one hand to gently stroke her blonde mane. “Correction. There's nothing I love more than getting a blowjob from you, Star.”

“D'aww, what a sweet thing to say,” she teased him, and then teased him some more by circling his glans with her tongue.

Having known her for so long, he began running his fingers along her ear, which was one of her most sensitive spots.

In response Shooting Star wrapped her lips around his now fully erect member and began to suck on it noisily.

To Missing Nail there was nothing more sexy than seeing her give him that heavily lidded look while she worked his cock with her mouth, except for one thing that could make it even better. Reaching around her, he unclasped her bra, and Shooting Star let the piece of fabric slide to the ground, revealing her generous cleavage.

Bringing his hand back to the front, he cupped one of her breasts, moving it around with his palm, enjoying the softness and pinching her hardening nipple every now and then.

He savored the feeling of her moaning around his shaft whenever he did that. Soon he was fully in the moment, pushing her head down slightly to get her to take more into her mouth with every stroke. His hips began to pick up the rhythm by themselves.

Feeling his tip hit the back of her throat, and without warning, he pressed down on her head a little harder this time while thrusting his hips forward, pushing it all the way in.

Shooting Star didn't gag once as he held this position for a while, before pulling back completely to allow her some much needed air.

Having caught her breath, Shooting Star opened her mouth wide and stuck out her tongue, knowing that he liked to set the speed.

“Fuck, that looks sexy,” Missing Nail mumbled to himself. Unable to contain this feeling, he grabbed her mane with both hands before pushing his pride past her lips once again. “You love it when I stuff my cock down your throat, don't you?”

“Mm-hm.”

Hearing her muffled reply, he began to move his hips, faster and faster to the point where she couldn't keep the seal with her lips. The slurping noises pushed him further and further as he fucked her mouth like a pussy.

With each thrust saliva and precum were overflowing her lips, dripping down onto her tits and coating them with a clear, sticky fluid. Watching that gave him an idea. “Lay down on the couch,” he told her after pulling out.

Already reasonably sure what he had in mind, considering how hard he was staring at her chest, Shooting Star obliged.

Straddling her stomach, he rubbed his tip against both her mounds and nipples, before placing it between the two peaks.

Shooting Star pushed them together for him without any prompting. With a smile, Missing Nail surged forward, his hips once again picking up speed.

Once again he began to pinch her nipples. He was so jealous of Moonstone, who could do this whenever he wanted. Deep down, Missing felt bad about actually hoping for them to fight and the mare he loved to show up on his doorstep. But he couldn't bring himself not to do it. For tonight, those tits were his to do with as he pleased.

Grabbing onto them, he squeezed them more tightly together to get the most pleasure out of it, his shaft lubricated by the fluids from earlier.

With her own hands now free, Star began to fondle his balls even while she stuck out her tongue, so his tip would brush against it with every thrust, sending even more current-like pleasure through his brain.

“Show me your slutty face, Star,” he said in a commanding voice. “The one Moonstone doesn't appreciate. Open wide and beg me for my cum.”

Shooting Star stuck out her tongue even further. “Yeah, shoot your semen all over my face and tits. Come on. Give me that cumshot!”

Hearing her talk dirty like that sent him over the edge. Placing one hand on his shaft, he aimed it at her face and began jerking off furiously. “Here goes!”

With a grunt, he came in several large spurts, making a mess of her face. It felt good. He never masturbated, always waiting for that time when she'd show up here again, so he could give her a good load.

Shooting Star swallowed what had hit her tongue and mouth, and he inched forward. Rubbing his cock against her cheeks, he smeared the white semen even more across her face. “Go ahead, clean it up.”

“Hm.” Purring like a kitten, she wrapped her velvety lips around his cock again, licking and sucking off the last bits of cum to cling to it. “Thank you. It was delicious. There's nothing like a bit of service to take my mind off things.”

Smiling at her, Missing Nail gently ran his fingers through her mane. “How long are you gonna stay this time, Star?”

“I don't know yet,” she told him honestly. “Let's just take it one day at a time.”

“Works for me.”

* * *

Present day...

“You know, if you hadn't asked for sex as payment every time she crashed here, you probably could have become a couple,” Diamond Dust dead-panned.

Missing Nail sat straight upright on the sofa next to his sister. “That's not how it was.”

“But that's what it always came down to,” she pointed out. “I'm not saying that you took advantage of her. Obviously she enjoyed those little one-nighters as much as you did. But what she needed, what she was looking for from you in those instances, was emotional support, not your cock.”

Missing Nail glared at his sister, knowing that she was right at least in some respects. He'd never been good at this relationship stuff or making his feelings clear. It was the very reason why Shooting Star and Moonstone had become a couple in the first place. His friend had simply beaten him to the punch by having the guts to ask her out first, right after graduation. “At least I wasn't trying to tie her down with commitments. Shooting Star isn't the kind of mare you can boss around. She's got her own mind, and that's one of the reasons I've always admired her.”

“Ever tell her that?” Diamond Dust asked matter-of-factly.

He didn't answer that. “I'm not the bad guy here. While she was with Moonstone, they were fighting all the time. She wouldn't have been so unhappy with me.”

His sister nodded. “Maybe. But did you ever wonder why she kept going back to Moonstone? Fighting is part of any relationship. At least he was willing to work on it.” She sighed. “Sometimes I really pity her, being stuck between two such stubborn stallions for all those years.”

“Yeah, well. Thanks to Moonstone, that's ancient history now. Neither one of us can go back to the way we were.”

Diamond Dust looked at him over the rim of her coffee mug with her piercing gaze. “Are you telling me that you weren't in any way to blame for the incident?”

The stallion looked away, wanting nothing more than to bury the memory of that awful day way in the back of his head. “Did you just come here to rip open old wounds, sis?”

Putting her mug down, she took a deep breath and took an envelope from her purse. She knew there was no point in continuing this discussion with him. “Actually I came here to give you this.”

“What is it?”

“A job offer. The Wonderbolts are commissioning some statues for their anniversary, and they need somepony to do some historical research on old uniform styles, specifically the old E.U.P. Guard uniforms.”

“Tsk. The Wonderbolts!” Missing Nail almost spat the word.

“Shooting Star never blamed the Wonderbolts for what happened, you know.” She stood up, getting ready to leave. “Just think about it. You coming home for mom's birthday next month?”

He nodded wordlessly.

“I'll see you there, then.” Before leaving, she leaned down to kiss his cheek.

“Sis!” Missing Nail called after her when she was already at the front door. “I'm sorry for snapping at you. I know you're just looking out for me. … I love you.”

Diamond Dust gave him a warm smile over her shoulder. “I know. I love you, too.”

* * *

3 days later...

After having his ID and the letter confirmed by the gate guard, Missing Nail was escorted onto the Wonderbolts base in Canterlot, ready to meet with the officer in charge of the anniversary project.

He was led to an office building at the far end of the base by a pony with sunglasses and a bushy mustache. He seemed to be some kind of petty officer, a corporal judging by the stripes on his shirt.

“The Major will be with you shortly,” the pony said as they arrived at a desk, presumably his, in front of a larger office that belonged to the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Support Squadron. He gestured towards some chairs. “Have a seat while you wait, sir. There's another civilian contractor here on account of the same project. You should probably introduce yourselves, seeing that you'll be working together.”

Missing Nail nodded. Normally he was quick to speak up, but the stiff military bearing of the corporal, as well as the bad memories from the last time he visited this very base, were enough to make him more tight-lipped than usual.

Frankly, he was grateful for having another civilian here, so he rounded the corner with a smile to make a good first impression. That smile faded as soon as he saw the gray unicorn sitting there in the waiting area, a gesture that the other stallion returned in kind.

““YOU!”” Missing Nail and Moonstone exclaimed simultaneously.

Author's Note

So this is Chapter 2 done. Happy Birthday to me, I guess.

Things are gonna be wrapped up in Chapter 3 on the 19th. How will Moonstone and Missing Nail handle their reunion? What was the ominous incident that caused the rift among the trio? And what exactly is Shooting Star up to these days?